AGAINST INCLUSIVENESS

​Inclusiveness should be about fairness, not erasing differences — reclaim REAL DIVERSITY, EQUITY, and CULTURAL AUTHENTICITY.

When you hear the word inclusiveness, you probably think of kindness, fairness, and making sure no one is left out. That’s a good thing. But the way society practices it today doesn’t always work the way we think.

Here’s a few examples from daily life:

1. Fairness to Sameness:

Inclusiveness began with the good idea of ending unfair treatment. But it has drifted into forcing everyone to act and think alike. Imagine your school’s cultural fair. Instead of really learning about different traditions, all the booths just sell the same snacks with flags on them. That’s not celebrating culture — it’s flattening it.

A school talent show where instead of letting kids show off unique talents, everyone is told to perform the same group dance, so no one feels left out.

2. Labels and Control:

Think about social media. People are constantly sorted by hashtags or identity labels. When society classifies people this way, it’s less about respect and more about control. The loudest voices decide which labels are “good” or “bad,” and if you don’t agree, you might get canceled or ignored.

On TikTok or Instagram, people get grouped by hashtags like #nerd, #goth, #jock, #LGBTQ. If you don’t fit neatly or use the “right” tags, you risk getting excluded.

3. Unity vs. Uniformity:

There’s a big difference between unity and uniformity. A basketball team has unity — different players bring their own style, but they work toward one goal. Uniformity would mean forcing every player to dribble, shoot, and even dress exactly the same. Inclusiveness today leans too much toward uniformity.

Uniformity would be a teacher making every student write the exact same essay with no personal angle — everyone’s voice erased.

4. Who Benefits?

When real traditions and differences are pushed aside, other forces step in — like big companies, schools, or government rules. A school banning all clubs tied to religion or tradition to stay “inclusive.” Instead of giving students more freedom, the decision leaves them with only generic activities controlled by the school.

5. Losing Deeper Values:

Then, we have what is called scientism– the belief that only science tells us what’s true. Science is awesome for facts and experiments, but it can’t tell you the meaning of friendship, beauty, or faith. If inclusiveness ignores those deeper values, life risks becoming shallow.

Science class teaches how oxygen keeps us alive (important fact!), but it can’t explain why a sunset is beautiful or why friendships matter.

A school art project where creativity is limited to “approved” themes so no one feels offended — robbing art of its deeper meaning.

6. What You Can Do?
​
Should we go back to discrimination?

No.

Instead…Start where you are.

We need to respect real traditions….instead of surface-level symbols.

Treat people with fairness….without reducing them to labels.

Build unity, like a team….not uniformity like a factory.

Put truth before popularity.

Protect real diversity….let groups keep their own voices!

Against Inclusiveness, by James Kalb